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About C-CAT

We are excited to introduce the Collateral Consequences Assessment Tool, or C-CAT, a one-of-a-kind, searchable database of the North Carolina collateral consequences of a criminal conviction. Our goal was to create a resource that would help attorneys, other professionals, affected individuals, and policy makers more easily assess a challenging area of law as well as help them advise people more accurately and completely about the impact of a conviction.

Criminal convictions often lead to legal consequences other than jail, prison, or probation. North Carolina statutes and regulations require or authorize a wide array of collateral consequences affecting many areas of life, including, among other things, the ability to get or keep certain jobs, licenses, or public benefits; hold public office; contract with public and private entities; and vote. These consequences are scattered throughout the North Carolina General statutes, making it difficult, if not impossible, for anyone to master the entire body of collateral consequences law without a central resource. C-CAT centralizes the collateral consequences imposed under North Carolina law for a criminal conviction.

Special recognition goes to our grantors and sponsors. The commitment of Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation—our principal grantor—to this and other social justice projects improves and enriches the lives of North Carolinians. We would also like to thank the Beskind-Robineau Family Fund of the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund; the Florence Rogers Charitable Trust; the Fund for Justice and Education, American Bar Association; and The R.J. Reynolds III and M.M. Reynolds Foundation for their generous support of this project. We also want to acknowledge the support of our Sponsors. Understanding the importance of this project, this group of committed attorneys provided financial and technical support throughout the development process. You may find more information about our grantors and sponsors here.

John Rubin, Professor of Public Law and Government at the UNC School of Government, supported the development of C-CAT in every possible way from conception to release, reviewing multiple iterations of the database and providing input without complaint. Thanks also go to Lisa Valdez, who, as a student at the UNC School of Law, worked tirelessly at the less-than-glamorous task of analyzing statutes and entering information into the database. Special recognition also goes to the North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services for supporting C-CAT’s development through review, advice, and the donation of time and labor.

C-CAT would not be possible without the creativity of the developers who worked so hard on it. Iain Hadgraft and Boriana Ditcheva brought it from concept to reality, and Brad Bednar and Bonnie Smyer brought it to the finish line.

Thanks also go to Kelley O’Brien and Ann Simpson, both of whom were patient and helpful advisors as we made our first foray into the world of grants; and to Robby Poore, Ellen Bradley, and Georgia Allen for their assistance in design, production, and dissemination of C-CAT.